First I would like to apologize for the lack of posts this week. This trend will not continue next week, I promise. Mean while, here are my picks for Week 4 of the NFL Season.
For years now the AFC has held the powerhouses of the NFL. The New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts have been considered the best teams in the NFL for years. The Patriots’ dynasty is one that will go down in history. Now where are they? Indianpolis is 1-2 and the Patriots just got slammed by the lowly Dolphins. ESPN recently took a poll of what people thought were the top five AFC teams. Neither of those two teams made it. Who was at the top? The Broncos, Titans, and Bills.
I will repeat that. Our nation believes that the best teams in the AFC are the Broncos, the Titans, and the Bills. These three teams were rated above New England, above Indianapolis, above Pittsburgh, above San Diego. What happened?
Well the answer to that question depends on which team you’re referring to. The Patriots? You could point to Tom Brady’s absence and call it a day, or you could go further. The Patriots defense that looked so good last year got old in a matter of months. In this past game, high and mighty Bill Belichick got straight up out coached. This year’s Pats are not the ones we are accustomed to. The ones that walk into a stadium and win, no matter how badly they play. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here, though. The Patriots are still a good team. Randy Moss is still Randy Moss. Bill is still one of the best coaches in the league and Foxborough is going to be a lot more angry after their first loss in two years was served to them there. Last I checked, 2-1 was still a winning record. The Patriots are in one of the worst divisions in the league. They have a bye week upcoming and will be taking an extra hard look at what happened Sunday. The Patriots are still playoff contendosr. Are they super bowl contendors? No way.
So what about the Colts? Well the fact that Peyton Manning didn’t play during the preseason is obviously hurting them, as they are not gelling as well on offense as they have in previous years. Also, the loss of Bob Sanders was a big time hit on the defensive side of the ball. The equation is simple for the Colts: Less turnovers on offense and better defense. The Colts are still a good team and are still very capable of making a playoff run. Will they? The way the season is headed right now, if the teams that are good continue to be good and the Colts don’t improve, then no. I do not see them winning their division. The Titans are 3-0, 2-0 against division. That’s a steep hill to climb. Its possible, but will be tough. The wildcard spot is pretty up for grabs though, so I expect Indi to drag itself into the playoffs one way or another.
Another team I’d like to talk about is the San Diego Chargers. These guys are good. Their record is 1-2, but let’s be honest, it should be 2-1. On Monday night they spanked the Jets. They disrupted Bret Favre (without Shawn Merriman) and Philip Rivers looked like a probowler, as he has all year. With Rivers playing like the best QB in the league and LT’s presence, these guys are the best team in the AFC in my opinion, especially when you look at the injuries other elite teams are facing (Willie Parker? Vince Young? In addition Brady and Sanders). Next week the Chargers beat Oakland and level back off at 2-2. The Denver Broncos currently hold the division crown and may hold it for some weeks, but I expect San Diego to reclaim its place up top.
The AFC is a lot more open than many would have thought going into this year and it could be the year we see some new faces representing it in the super bowl.
I must first apologize for the lack of posts this past weekend. I was tied down by schoolwork and performances. Again, I apologize. Anyways, on with business.
For my predictions I made I went a sweet 12-4. If you notice, I forgot to write my prediction for San Francisco vs. Detroit. I would have gone with San Fran in that contest, so I am giving myself thie credit. This brings my record for the season to 20-12. Now on with the rankings:
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New York Giants
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. San Diego Chargers
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Denver Broncos
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Green Bay Packers
10. Carolina Panthers
11. New England Patriots
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13. Washington Redskins
14. Indianapolis Colts
15. Baltimore Ravens
16. Jacksonville Jaguars
17. New Orleans Saints
18. Arizona Cardinals
19. San Francisco 49ers
20. Minnesota Vikings
21. Chicago Bears
22. Miami Dolphins
23. Cleveland Browns
24. New York Jets
25. Atlanta Falcons
26. Seattle Seahawks
27. Houston Texans
28. Detroit Lions
29. Oakland Raiders
30. Kansas City Chiefs
31. Cincinnati Bengals
32. St. Louis Rams
I will go more into detail on this ranking tomorrow when I post. For now though, its interesting to note how high I rated the Chargers and Titans. The Titans speak for themselves, and I beleive the Chargers deserve to be that high due to the play of Phillip Rivers and that, in all reality, they should be 2-1.
Recently Kobe Bryant appaered on ESPN’s “Jim Rome is Burning.” On it, the host Jim Rome asked Kobe Bryant where winning a gold medal with Team USA’s Redeem team ranked on his list of accomplishments. Kobe told him that winning a gold medal, especially the way it was won, was ranked highest on his list.
Some Lakers fans did not take so kindly to this statement. They felt that nothing should rank above winning an NBA Championship for the city of Los Angeles (which, by the by, he alread has done a few times).
Those fans should be embarrassed. I’m not a huge Kobe Bryant fan, but I felt a lot more respect for him when I heard he ranked the gold medal above anything in country.
The Olympics are the highest level of sports in the world. Going there and winning a gold medal means you proved you were the best in the world. Kobe Bryant and Team USA were representing America more so than any other American athlete or team (except maybe Michael Phelps). Now what should be more important to him? Representing the United States of America in a world class sporting event or the city of Los Angeles in a national title game?
Kobe Bryant actually has his priorities straight and that is something you should take pride in Los Angeles, not flay him for.
Taking a look at this past weekends slew of football games, there are three teams that have something in common. Minnesota, Cleveland, and San Diego would all tell you they could have won and should have won. All three of these teams had very high expectations coming into this season and all three are now 0-2 after coming oh so close to being 1-1.
First let’s look at the team who legitimately should have won: San Diego (video highlights are posted below). With time running out Denver was down by 7. As they approached the end zone, quarterback Jay Cutler stepped back to throw a pass and the ball slipped out of his away from his body. There was no contact and it did not go toward the line of scrimmage, much less in front of it. The play was whistled dead after the ball hit the ground, being ruled an incomplete pass, despite the fact that it was undisputably a fumble; this is made doubly painful by the fact that San Diego had successfully recovered it, thus clinching the W. San Diego was unable to challenge the clearly incorrectly called play and Denver scored a touchdown followed by the game winning two-point conversion. This loss that should never have happened is especially troubling for a disappointing Chargers team. San Diego is now 0-2 and in last place in their division, a division that does not seem quite as securely theirs. The Denver Broncos are now 2-0 with both victories coming over division opponents. Pressure is mounting on San Diego and they will be hardpressed to overtake Denver unless they start winning soon.
Cleveland is another team on this list. Division opponent and hated rival Pittsburgh came to town on Sunday evening and pulled out with a 10-6 victory over the reeling Browns. This game very well could have (and from a Cleveland perspective, should have) gone the other way. As time expired in the first half the Browns drove the ball all the way down into the Pittsburgh ten yard line. With about 10 seconds left and 3rd and short coming up, Romeo Crennel, the Browns’ head coach, did not call a time out. Instead, confused, Derek Anderson ran a QB sneak for the first down (since he could not spike the ball to stop the clock). The problem was that took so much time that there was only 8 seconds left. Down by 7, the Browns did not want to settle for a field goal, but 8 seconds is barely enough time to run a play and kick a field goal if need be. They tried the play and in the rush Derek Anderson threw an interception as time ran out, leaving the Browns down 7-0 at halftime. This intermixed with many drops by Braylon Edwards, another inteception by Anderson, a lackluster run game, and a questionable 4th quarter field goal, the Browns practically handed the Steelers a win. The Browns are now 0-2 in the division and battle Baltimore this week followed by Cincinnati the following week; both games are road games, division games, and must-win games.
The Minnesota Vikings are another team that let a game slip away from them. On Minnesota’s first five possessions of the game they crossed midfield into Colts territory. All they had to show for that feat was five field goals, aka, all their points. Adrian Peterson was dominant, as usual, but the terrible passing game did them in. In fact, it was so bad that it was recently announced that Tavaris Jackson will no longer be the starting quarterback, instead, backup QB Gus Frerotte will. A quarterback controversy going into week three of the regular season is not something any team wants, but if the passing game does not improve do not expect Minnesota to win many games this season. Next weekend the Vikings take on the Panthers, a team that has beaten teams better than Minnesota this season, so it will not be easy pickings.
The following is my Power Rankings following week 2 of the NFL regular season.
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New York Giants
3. Philadelphia Eaglse
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Tennessee Titans
7. Indianapolis Colts
8. New England Patriots
9. Carolina Panthers
10. Buffalo Bills
11. Denver Broncos
12. Cleveland Browns
13. Arizona Cardinals
14. New Orleans Saints
15. Jacksonville Jaguars
16. Chicago Bears
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. San Diego Chargers
19. Washington Redskins
20. New York Jets
21. Minnesota Vikings
22. Houston Texans
23. Oakland Raiders
24. Baltimore Ravens
25. San Francisco 49ers
26. Atlanta Falcons
27. Detroit Lions
28. Cincinnati Bengals
29. Kansas City Chiefs
30. Seattle Seahawks
31. Miami Dolphins
32. St. Louis Rams
As it is early in the season I am giving some teams more credit than they deserve and some teams less credit than they deserve, but again, it’s hard to tell early on. I expect Indi to rebound and work its way back up and the Steelers to fall a bit simply because their schedule is quite challenging. Other teams will obviously fluxuate as well.
2010. It has been the talk of the basketball world the entire offseason. Superstars abound will become free agents in 2010. Lebron James. Dwayne Wade. Chris Bosh. Speculation after speculation has been made about who they will sign with, especially Lebron James. “Jay Z is his best friend!” “He’ll go to the Knicks for sure.” First of all, I firmly believe he will stay in Cleveland, but that is not the point of this blog.
Cavalier fans should not need to worry about 2010 because they have enough to look forward to in 2008.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have quietly had an incredibly productive offseason. The Cavs locked in guard Daniel “Boobie” Gibson for five years. They signed last years starting playoff Delonte West for three years. They drafted J.J. Hickson who had a very impressive summer league performance and should fill in nicely at the gap left by the trade of Joe Smith, which brings me to the top move of the offseason: the signing of point guard Mo Williams. Williams is a combo guard that can score – exactly what the Cavaliers needed. He is not there to pass the ball a ton because Lebron handles that. He is there to score and run with Lebron. Finally the Cavaliers have somebody who can be a legitimate scoring threat. All of this plus the additions of role players Lorenzen Wright and Tarence Kinsley made for a terrific offseason.
Now let’s take a look the hope given from last season. The Cavs took the NBA Champion Boston Celtics to seven games, and let’s be honest, should have won. They had so many opportunities in that series that slipped through their fingers. All this despite the fact that last season was plagued by contract hold outs, injuries galore, and the fact that half the team had only been wearing a Cavalier uniform for two months. This season we already know will not contain two of those problems. It is early September and the Cavs already have this seasons team locked in. I wouldn’t expect a trade bringing in more than one or two players either, so that shouldn’t be an issue. If the Cavaliers are healthy I would expect them to win fifty-five plus games this season.
There is one more point that will help the Cavs win a championship this year. Wally Sczerbiak. I am not talking about his playing abilities (though if he performs well it will be a big boost). I am referring to his contract. The man is making 13 million dollars and his contract expires at the end of this year. That contract is going to be quite appealing to a team looking forward to the lottery when the trade deadline comes around. Packaging him with an Anderson Varejao could potentially bring another star caliber player to the Cavaliers; in other words, the final piece of the Cavaliers Championship Puzzle.
Don’t worry about 2010 Cleveland fans. Instead, be excited for this season. Boston is the only team that stands in our way, and we proved last season we can take them. We only got better and they only got older.
Week Two of the NFL is about ten hours from being logged away and so far we have seen several surprises. After two weeks here are the teams that are 2-0:
AFC: New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans
NFC: New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and either Philadelphia Eagles or Dallas Cowboys (they play eachother tonight)
Some of these come as no surprise, such as Pittsburgh, New York, Dallas/Philly. New England is more surprsing than it would have been due to the loss of Tom Brady, but given who they were playing they should be on this list. Here are the surprsies:
Tennessee Titans: Who would have thought they could go into Jacksonville and soundly beat them in week one? Then as an encore they marched into lowly Cincinnati with no Vince Young and spanked them. The Titans are leading the division. The AFC South is no schlum division either, with all four teams being at .500 or higher last year and three of them making the playoffs. Will they remain leaders for the rest of the season? The answer is yes if they keep playing like this and Indianapolis continues to struggle, especially given their relatively easy schedule over the next five weeks.
Carolina Panthers: These guys are turning into Carolina’s own Kardiac Kids. Two last minute comebacks against two teams that most thought would win. Chicago is not as good as San Diego in my opinion and therefore not quite as impressive, but they are coming off of a solid win in Indianapolis. This didn’t stop Carolina from staging a fourth quarter come back against them. If they keep playing even close to this well expect to see them for more than 17 weeks; the NFC South doesn’t have too much competition.
Arizona Cardinals: I’m reluctant to put them on this list because they should be 2-0. They played the 49ers in week one and the Dolphins in week two who had no more than five combined wins last season. I would like to point out, however, that the NFC West is so open that even I could compete in it. The Rams are a joke, and the 49ers are not much better. The Seahawks just lost to the 49ers and that should say enough about them. What I’m trying to say is Arizona already clinched the division.
To close this blog I’d like to go and see how well I did with my predictions. I actually did pretty bad, only accurately predicting 7/15 of the games thus played, though in my defense it was a fairly surprsing week.
Make sure to tune into tonights football game as we see the Cowboys play the Eagles. Should be a good one!
